


SciOps Girls

by agent85



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Sci-Ops Era (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-12
Updated: 2016-08-12
Packaged: 2018-08-08 06:53:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,225
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7747507
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/agent85/pseuds/agent85
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jemma and Fitz always go to the movies after they finish a project, and Jemma has been looking forward to spending a little alone time with Fitz ever since she realized she has feelings for him.</p>
<p>Only problem is, she has a date.</p>
<p>Worse, he has one, too.</p>
            </blockquote>





	SciOps Girls

**Author's Note:**

  * For [SuburbanSun](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SuburbanSun/gifts).



> I have my Tumbr anon and [SuburbanSun](http://archiveofourown.org/users/SuburbanSun/pseuds/SuburbanSun/works) to blame for this. I clearly had no control whatsoever.

“So, about the movie night.”

Jemma froze in front of the lab door, tightening her hands into fists.

“I can’t,” she said, unable to look him in the eyes, “I have a date tomorrow.”

“Oh.”

Jemma shook her head, already aching with the pain she felt in his voice. Their post-project rituals were sacred to her, too, and she never would have agreed to the date in the first place if she thought they’d finish so quickly. 

Ironic, considering that somewhere inside of her, she knew she only agreed to the date because she was so tired of waiting.

She was about to mumble a graceless apology when he spoke first.

“I’ve got one, too.”

Jemma stood there for a second or two, blinking at him. 

“You . . . what?” 

“It’s not like you’re the only one who can get asked out,” he said, sticking his hands in his pockets. “SciOps girls are very modern.”

Jemma thought it was more likely that most SciOps girls had no choice but to take initiative, but she kept it to herself.

“Do you . . .” said Fitz, “do you want to double? If we all go to a movie, it’ll almost be the same.”

A panic washed over her before she managed to say, “No, not really,” in a tone that somewhat approximated disinterest.

“How so?”

What she couldn’t say was that it didn’t count as a movie night if another woman was making the very same moves on Fitz that she had planned to make herself. Instead, she told him that they wouldn’t be able to mock the film with reckless abandon. Especially if they went to a movie that was actually popular, where they wouldn’t be the only people in the theater.

Fitz nodded thoughtfully. “Well, it’s too late tonight, or I’d suggest that we hop in the car right now. So, we’ll have to wait until, what? Sunday? I’d think you wouldn’t want to go out two nights in a row, but the weekend will be over if we don’t.”

He had no idea the way his casual suggestion made her heart stop, simply because of how thoughtful it was. And she was going to let him just go off with some other girl? Well, really, she had to. But not for a good twenty-four hours.

“It’s only too late if we want to go to a movie theater,” she offered. “I’m sure could find something equally awful on Netflix.”

Fitz frowned. “Except, we’ve spent all week killing ourselves trying to get this project done, and I’m knackered. I might crawl into bed with my shoes on.”

Jemma tried to hide her disappointment and failed miserably. “Well,” she said, “we’d better get you home. I can’t have you failing to undress yourself.”

She heard it as soon as she said it and she winced, but luckily, he chose that moment to shuck off his lab coat and hang it up. She did the same, hoping he wouldn’t notice the tinge of red in her cheeks.

“Shall we be off, then?”

Fitz furrowed his brow at her. “We? I’ll have to go straight home.”

“And I’m going to walk you home,” she insisted, “just to make sure you don’t end up snoring in a ditch somewhere.”

It was rare for Fitz to be the one rolling his eyes at _her_ , and she always appreciated the dramatic flare he brought to the gesture. Her smile faded, though, when he offered her his arm.

“Shall we?”

She only hesitated for a moment before linking her arm in his and following his lead out of the lab. Would he do this for his date, she wondered? As they left the lab and walked down the street with the stars above, she could imagine that this was the end of a date with Fitz. After all, she’d been to dinner and to movies with him a hundred times, often in the same evening. So if they’d done that the way they always did, except with butterflies in her stomach and a squeak in Fitz’s voice, she didn’t know why it couldn’t end up like this.

When they arrived at Fitz’s apartment, she was sure she imagined the awkwardness, because they were just two friends parting ways and not two almost-lovers having a door scene. Still, it felt like one, especially when Fitz had to root around in his pockets for the keys and it almost seemed like he was stalling.

“Well, Jemma,” he said, frowning when another pocket turned out to be empty, “as excited as I am to go Dutch on a date for once, I’d much rather be with you tomorrow.”

“I know, Fitz,” she sighed, “so would I.

“It’s just that I promised her a week ago and I can’t break my—” He stopped cold and looked up at her. “You would? Really?”

He stared at her, jaw slack, and it was his fault, really, because of all the attention he was drawing to his mouth. Her own exhaustion, coupled with his dumbfounded expression, managed to completely destroy any self-restraint as she lunged for him, pinning him against the door and kissing him senseless. She knew she was being reckless, but she also knew that he was kissing her back with his hands at her waist, drawing her closer. 

She reveled in it, thinking this was something whatever girl he was going out with would never experience. But then she remembered there _was_ another girl, and she pulled back.

Fitz’s lips followed hers, and his eyes only opened when he couldn’t find her. They stared at each other for a second before Jemma plucked Fitz’s keys out of his breast pocket and put them in his hand.

“Well,” she said, “good night.” And without another word, she ran off into the night, leaving a stupefied Fitz behind her.

She wasn’t able to catch her breath until she got to her own flat. She thought that, at the very least, she’d have time to figure this all out. After all, she didn’t have to see Fitz until Monday.

But, of course, they were called in the next morning to put out somebody else’s fire. Jemma had already cancelled her date, but when Fitz brought it up, she told him that the guy had the flu. Fitz made a few unsuccessful attempts at responding before he told her his date had also cancelled. She had no idea what to say to him, and he didn’t say another word until she was ready to leave.

"So, since your date and my date cancelled on both of us at the last second . . ."

Jemma froze with her hand on the door, suddenly unable to breathe as she became painfully aware of his presence behind her. She could hear the crinkling of fabric as Fitz put his hands in his pockets and the creak of his shoes as he pretended to sway nonchalantly.

“Yes?”

“I thought . . .” he sputtered, “I mean, you said you didn’t even want to go out with him anyway, and considering the way you kissed me last night, I wasn’t too keen to go on my date either, so . . . why don’t we just go out together?”

He let out an “oof!” when she spun around, wrapped her arms around him, kissed him soundly on the mouth, and told him she thought he’d never ask.

**Author's Note:**

> I regularly post sneak peeks and general ramblings about my writing on [my tumblr](http://agent-85.tumblr.com/tagged/Writings%20of%20Agent%2085).


End file.
